Strawberry Swiss Roll Cake is a refreshing summer dessert! A tender sponge cake with cream cheese filling and a layer of sweet strawberries. Perfect for Easter brunch, Mother's Day, or any special occasion!
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I love using fresh strawberries in desserts during the strawberry season like in this Strawberry Galette or this Starbucks Pink Drink. I always need to make a batch of my Strawberry Jam (no pectin) which you can also use in this recipe in place of sliced strawberries.
How to make Strawberry Swiss Rolls
- Step 1: In a large mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks, oil, milk, lemon zest vanilla, and 1/2 of the sugar until combined.
- Step 2: In a separate bowl add the dry ingredients and mix.
- Step 3: Add the flour mixture to the wet and mix just until combined.
- Step 4: In a medium bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form to add in the rest of the sugar and beat.
- Step 5: Using a rubber spatula fold the egg whites into the batter.
- Step 6:Pour the batter into a 10x15 inch jelly roll pan with a sheet of parchment paper.
- Step 7: Bake
- Step 8: Sprinkle a dusting of powdered sugar over a tea towel or kitchen towel.
- Step 9: Remove the cake from the oven and place the baked cake on top of the dusted tea towel and roll, place on a wire rack until it cools.
- Step 10: In a medium bowl add the cream cheese and powdered sugar and using an electric mixer beat until combined.
- Step 11: Add in the whipped cream.
- Step 12: Mix until fully combined.
- Step 13: Remove from the cooling rack.
- Step 14: Gently unroll the cake.
- Step 15: Spread an even layer of the cream filling over the top.
- Step 16: Add the layer of strawberries or strawberry puree, and gently roll it back up.
Why this recipe works
A Swiss roll cake is a sponge cake that is rolled around a filling of some kind. This cake is perfect for spring or summer it's gorgeous and a great way to impress your guests. I make my Pumpkin Roll Cake every year for Thanksgiving and it's always a huge hit!
Recipe Tips
- Make sure you beat the eggs until soft peaks form, this is an important step to ensure a light and fluffy sponge cake.
- You want to roll it as soon as it comes out of the oven and try not to roll it too tight or it may crack.
- Using a tea towel or thin dishtowel to roll it up, helps to prevent it from sticking and also makes rolling the warm cake so much easier.
Recipe FAQ's
The easiest way is to use an egg separator tool like this one. You can also use the shell by cracking the egg in half over a small bowl. Gently transfer the yolk back and forth between the eggshells and let the whites fall into the bowl. Then once the whites are separated place the yolks into another bowl.
Yes, I usually make this strawberry roll cake the day before and wrap it with the tea towel in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until ready to add the filling. Then bring it to room temperature for about an hour then unroll the cake and add the filling.
Rolling the strawberry roll cake while it's warm is an important step that ensures the cake doesn't crack. When it's warm it's flexible and helps it keep that shape as it cools. But if your cake does crack or split you can cover it with whipped cream, or even chop up the cake and make a layered trifle out of it.
A traditional Swiss Roll cake has a whipped cream filling. This Swiss roll cake has cream cheese added to the strawberry filling.
Roll cakes can be a little tricky too sometimes. You must roll it while it's still warm, and let it cool for several hours. Once cooled carefully unroll the cake, spread the frosting over the top and gently roll the cake back up again.
Most roll cakes that sag are made with a whipped cream filling and it doesn't hold up as well and will cause the cake to sag after a couple hours. By adding in the cream cheese it stabilizes the filling which allows the roll cake to hold up better.
Strawberry Swiss Roll Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 eggs yolks at room temperature
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 egg whites at room temperature
Cream Cheese Filling
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup Cool whip
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups strawberries sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a with cooking spray and lay a piece of parchment paper and lightly spray the top of the parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl whisk the egg yolks, vegetable oil, milk, lemon zest, vanilla, and ½ of the granulated sugar until combined.
- In a small bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt until combined.
- Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix just until combined.
- In a medium bowl using a hand mixer beat the eggs on high until soft peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the other half of the granulated sugar and continue beating for another 1-2 minutes.
- Using a wooden spoon or spatula fold egg whites into the cake batter until fully combined.
- Pour batter onto a prepared jelly roll baking pan and bake for 13-15n minutes or until slightly golden brown and spongy.
- Lay a tea towel or on a flat surface and lightly dust it with powdered sugar and set aside.
- When the cake is done immediately invert the cake onto the towel. Remove the parchment paper and then roll the cake in the towel starting at one end. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.
Cream Cheese Filling
- In a medium bowl using a hand mixer beat the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth, using a spatula fold in the cool whip just until all combined.
- When the cake has cooled gently unroll the cake and spread the filling evenly over the cake. Add the sliced strawberries on top and carefully roll the cake back up. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to chill.
- Dust with powdered sugar, slice, and serve.
Fantastic Natalie! So happy she loved it 🙂
I just made this today, for my mom’s 75th Birthday, as it is her favorite cake, so I got to surprise her with it. It came out delicious, and so much easier to make versus a multi layer buttercream cake. I added strawberry jam. The lemon zest in the batter really is so good. It was a hit, and am looking forward to making it in the near future.